Salted Caramel Eggnog Punch

Eggnog: you love it or hate it. Around this time of year, it’s hard to step foot in a restaurant, bar or friend’s house without someone offering you a holiday spirited cocktail. From spiked apple cider to a classic Tom & Jerry to cranberry martinis, holiday cheer is plentiful in December, in more ways than one.

I am a bit of an anomaly — I love eggnog, but generally find it too thick and cloying to drink more than a few sips, so making it from scratch is more effort than it’s worth. Brad isn’t much of a mixed drink guy — he drinks beer, wine and the most festive cocktail you’ll see him sipping is gin and tonic. Yet, every year in December I find myself drawn to fill my shopping cart with eggnog and use it in some of my favorite holiday recipes. Last year I made Iced Eggnog Cookies that were hugely popular in my office and this year, Chila ‘Orchata Cinnamon Cream Rum has been a game changer in my kitchen.

Chila ‘Orchata mixes the richness of Puerto Rican rum, spice of cinnamon horchata and sweetness of Tahitian vanilla for a delicious result. Just the right amount of sweet, the cinnamon cream rum serves up a kick in cocktails or can be enjoyed on the rocks for a blissful nightcap. Produced and bottled in Louisville, KY, Chila is a fanciful flavor name for the horchata-like cinnamon cream rum. Horchata is a creamy drink that’s popular in Latin America and is typically made with milk, rice and/or sesame seeds, and spices like vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa

December is a great time of year to merge your desserts and your cocktails into one decadent category. If you’re like me, and eggnog on its own isn’t quite your bag, adding Chila ‘Orchata will give it a boozy kick and some salted caramel flavor will take it up a notch from thirst quencher to sweet tooth solution.

A lot of eggnog punch recipes contain ice cream, frozen whipped topping and soda, but because eggnog is so rich on its own and Chila is so full of flavor, it didn’t seem necessary to me to go overboard. I made two versions of this (it was a huge sacrifice, as you can probably imagine) and one contained ice cream and the other did not. If you add French vanilla ice cream, you do get a creamier consistency for the beverage, but you can still get that same warm and nutty vanilla flavor with vanilla spices and extract, with a little less sugar.

This salted caramel eggnog punch was created in sponsored collaboration with Chila ‘Orchata. All thoughts and opinions are my own. For more information about Chila, visit on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. This message is intended for those of age 21+, please enjoy Chila responsibly.